Widespread cancellations and disruption for rail passengers have accompanied the introduction of new timetables, with Northern and Thameslink services particularly affected.
Many commuters who had altered their normal routines for rescheduled trains arrived at stations on Monday morning only to find services cancelled.
While train companies have yet to confirm the exact number of delays and cancellations, around one in four Thameslink trains due to run through central London in rush hour appeared to have been cancelled on Monday morning, after Britain’s largest commuter franchise, Govia Thameslink Railway, introduced an entirely redrawn timetable on Sunday.
Passengers waiting for Northern trains appeared to fare even worse, with swathes of the morning schedule connecting towns around Manchester disrupted, and the majority of trains at key hubs such as the city’s Oxford Road delayed or cancelled at peak times. By 8.30am on Monday, around 50 trains were reported to have been cancelled, while a similar number were running a reduced service or had fewer carriages.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, called for the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, to take action. In a tweet, Burnham said it was “appalling”, adding: “Grayling needs to intervene – today.” Burnham had demanded an investigation into poor service on Northern last week, even before problems escalated on Monday.
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy also tweeted about the chaos, saying: “This franchise is failing and must be removed.”
Northern’s new timetable problems have been compounded by issues over industrial relations, with a further RMT strike linked to the role of guards due this week.
Some drivers have also refused to work rest days, meaning that some of the logistical work to put trains in place appears not to have been carried out.
However, drivers’ union Aslef said Northern had not heeded its calls to train enough staff in time: “Drivers are not on a go-slow, they are not calling in sick, but they just have not been trained on the new routes.”
A Northern spokesman indicated that cancellations were likely to continue throughout the day.
GTR apologised for the disruption, which it said was due to trains and drivers being redeployed to make the timetable work – but insisted passengers were benefiting immediately from an overall increase in capacity. A spokesperson said: “We are implementing over the coming weeks the biggest timetable change in a generation to boost capacity and improve reliability, introducing 400 extra daily trains and space for 50,000 extra passengers in the peak.”
He said anyone delayed for more than 15 minutes could claim compensation through the website.
The changes are meant to capitalise on the £7bn invested in the Thameslink programme, including rebuilding London Bridge. GTR believes the timetable, after two years’ consultation, best reflects where services are needed and extends stop times at busier stations to tackle unrealistic scheduling.
However, many commuters have been upset by changes to the timetable, irrespective of the disruption. Kevin Mcnulty, 55, from Southwick in West Sussex, commutes to London Bridge and said: “We were promised more trains, instead there are less and they take longer. I used to get the 6.54am, change at Hove and was in London for 8.16am, now I have two choices that take longer: with the 6.12am I arrive too early and the 7.12am arrives too late. Though expectations are very low among commuters we are still very cross.”
Julia Day, a marketing director from Brighton, found her service into Victoria no longer stops at Clapham Junction between 5.30am and 10am. “My journey to Putney now involves three trains for a journey that I could do previously in one hour and 10 minutes. My weekly ticket costs £100.50 so I’m fuming.”
However, other passengers have noticed a benefit. Peter O’Callaghan, from Deptford in south London, said of his commute to Regent’s Park: “The new Thameslink service to Luton that stops at Deptford has knocked at least 20 minutes off my journey. I’m very happy.”
Robert Nisbet, at industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “In the long term these changes will see customers in many parts of the country benefit from more and faster services.”
Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus, the passenger watchdog, said that Monday’s rush-hour performance was “not carnage, but not brilliant”. He said: “Let’s hope these teething problems disappear. For most passengers it means more seats. It’s all happening for the right reasons – in the middle of London it’s now like you’ve got an extra tube service running with such frequent trains.”
Engineering overruns have caused additional timetabling problems, and some promised Thameslink services will not run until 2020. Smith added: “But passengers rely on the timetable as published and they have a right to, so are very frustrated.”
The RMT union called the first weekday of the new timetable “Meltdown Monday”. The general-secretary, Mick Cash, said: “The union is picking up reports from both Northern and GTR of a hopeless lack of planning, combined with a shortage of crew and fleet, which has reduced the Monday morning journey to a nightmare for many passengers. It is our members dealing with the anger at the sharp end, not the well-paid top brass from Arriva [owner of Northern] and Govia.”